Bore pump assemblies



March 24, 1970 5, PICKARD 3,502,037

BORE PUMP ASSEMBLIES Filed Aug. 1, 1967 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR 7 15) dfi ffs F/ K MD s m m ATTORNEY March 24, 1970 5. J. PICKARD 3,502,037

BORE PUMP ASSEMBLIES Filed Aug. 1, 1967 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVEN1 O BY ATTORNEY;

March 24, 1970 s. J. PICKARD 3,502,037

BORE PUMP ASSEMBLIES Filed Aug. 1, 1967' 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR 5 WW5 Y a 4/ 15; P/ /r W0 ATTORNEY March 24, 1970 5, J, PICKARD 3,502,037

BORE PUMP ASSEMBLIES Filed Aug. 1. 1967 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 BY Q A #W ATTORNEY United States Patent US. 'Cl. 103--219 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A bore pump to be positioned within .a bore casing for pumping at a below-ground location. The bore pump assembly includes a pumping mechanism and a sealing mechanism. The sealing mechanism has an operative, sealing condition and an inoperative, non-sealing condition. In this latter condition of the sealing mechanism, the pumping mechanism can be introduced through the sealing mechanism into the casing, and then the sealing mechanism can be actuated to have its operative condition providing a seal with the bore casing. In this latter condition of the sealing mechanism the bore casing itself acts as a conduit for the liquid pumped by the pumping mechanism from beneath and through the sealing mechanism. A release member can be selectively actuated to trigger the sealing mechanism back to its non-sealing condition.

This invention relates to improvements in and relating to bore pump assemblies, and it has more particular reference to a bore pump of the type adapted to be positioned and held within the bore casing in a below-ground pumping location.

A current, standard type of bore pump may have a vertically-reciprocable plunger operative within a pump barrel secured to the lower end of a composite delivery pipe, the whole being suspended in the body of liquid to be pumped. The plunger is connected to a composite pumprod of hardwood, steel, solid iron or tubular metal made up by the addition of individual rod lengths and adapted to be reciprocated within the delivery pipe by means of a windmill or other prime mover, supplying power. The plunger is provided with a non-return plunger inlet valve for upflow past the plunger, and the bottom of the pump chamber is provided with a non-return suction valve for inflow to the chamber. The pump plunger and bottom suction valve may in certain types of pumps be withdrawable through the delivery pipe by means of the pumprod.

A bore pump assembly of this type suffer from a number of disadvantages which it would be desirable to overcome. Firstly, the use of a delivery pipe entails an expense which could be avoided by utilizing the existing bore casing as the delivery pipe, provided that the pump could be anchored and sealed directly into the bore casing at the required depth. Then again, extensive corrosion takes place at present in the bore casing because when the pump is in operation the casing is subjected to air and moisture over its internal surface and is not subjected to continuous flow of liquid therealong. Furthermore, an unnecessarily large amount of power is required to 0perate the pump under current constructions due to the friction resulting from the passage of the liquid through the delivery pipe, together with the frictional engagement of the pumprod against the inner surface of the delivery pipe as the pumprod flexes laterally during its longitudinal reciprocation. It will also be apparent that the pumprod is a heavy and expensive item which requires an unnecessarily large amount of power for its operation.

3,502,037 Patented Mar. 24, 1970 The principal object of the present invention is to pro vide such improvements in bore pump assemblies that the pump may be held firmly within the bore casing without the need to utilize a delivery pipe, and yet the pump may be easily withdrawn when it is necessary or desirable to do so. In particular, the invention aims to provide a novel type of bore pump assembly which will overcome the several disadvantages previously listed as encountered with existing constructions. Other objects and various further advantages of the invention will be hereinafter apparent.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, my invention resides broadly in a bore pump assembly adapted to be accommodated within a bore casing and to be mounted at the level of liquid therein, said bore pump assembly including a pumping mechanism and a sealing mechanism, the latter having a sealing annulus, seal-actuating means and seal-release means; said sealing annulus being adapted to be disposed either in a first condition in which it is inoperative to permit insertion or wthdrawal of the bore pump assembly or a second condition in which it engages and seals against the bore casing, the bore casing above the sealing annulus then constituting a delivery conduit for liquid pumped by said pumping mechanism from beneath and through said sealing annulus; said seal-actuating means being responsive to contact with liquid in the bore casing to actuate said sealing annulus from said first condition to said second condition, and said seal-release means including a release member adapted to be actuated selectively to return said sealing annulus from said second condition to said first condition.

Preferably, when the sealing annulus is engaged with the bore casing in said second condition, it provides a clamping action to constitute an anchoring unit to locate the bore pump assembly fixedly in the bore casing. This clamping action may be sutficient for the support of the pump assembly in the casing, but additionally the annulus may have secured therearound a plurality of borecasing-engagement members adapted when the said annulus is in said second condition to engage the bore casing and exert a wedging action opposing downward motion of the bore pump assembly. Preferably, the sealing annulus is an inflatable resilient annulus adapted to be inflated by said seal-actuating means from said first condition to said second condition and to be deflated by said seal-release means from said second condition to said first condition.

It is further preferred that the pumping mechanism include a pump barrel assembly containing a movable plunger and a plunger rod whereby the plunger may be reciprocated vertically, said annulus being fitted closely around and secured to said pump barrel assembly. With the construction according to the invention, the upper end of the plunger rod may be connected to a flexible cable whereby it may be reciprocated by a prime mover above ground level. Other features of the invention will become apparent from the following description.

In order that the invention may be more readily understood and put into practical effect, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is an outside elevational View of a complete bore pump assembly in accordance with the invention, the inflatable annulus being in deflated condition;

FIG. 2 is a sectional side elevation of the lower part of the pump assembly of FIG. 1, the inflatable annulus being shown in inflated condition;

FIG. 3 is an underneath perspective view showing the seal-actuating means and seal-release means of the pump assembly of FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIGS. 4 to 6 are side elevation, end view and sectional side elevation, respectively, of the valve galley for the seal-actuating means and seal-release means;

FIGS. 7 and 8 are detailed views of the trip assembly forming part of the apparatus of FIG. 3;

FIG. 9 is a sectional plan view on the line 9'-9 of FIG. 3; I

FIG. 10 shows in side elevation, partly broken away, the gas container of the seal-actuating means;

FIG. 11 is a sectional view of part of a modified bore pump assembly, and showing also casing engagement members on the inflatable annulus, the latter being shown inflated;

FIG. 12 shows part of FIG. 11 but with the annulus deflated, and

FIG. 13 is a section on the line 13-13 of FIG. 12.

Referring initially to the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 10 of the drawings, there is illustrated a bore pump assembly adapted to be lowered as a complete assembly into the bore casing, the assembly including a pumping mechanism 10 and a sealing mechanism 11. The latter broadly comprises a sealing annulus 12, seal-actuating means 13 and sealrelease means 14. In this instance, the pumping mechanism 10 is a plunger-type pump including a pump barrel assembly 15 having two coaxial cylindrical portions, the first being a lower pump housing 16 and the second being an upper annulus-mounting tube 17, the two being joined by a collar .18.

The lower end of the pump housing 16 has mounting means for a non-return suction valve 19 and a strainer 20, these being of conventional form so that liquid may be drawn in through the strainer 20 and past the suction valve 19 in non-returnable manner. Within the pump housing 16, there is a plunger 21 having a non-return plunger inlet valve 22 so that liquid may pass on the down stroke of the plunger 21 past the valve 22 to the pump chamber 23 for lifting of the liquid on the up stroke of the plunger 21. The plunger 21 is connected to a vertically-reciprocable plunger rod 24 which extends through the pump housing 16 and the annulus-mounting tube 17, said plunger rod 24 being surrounded by coil springs 25 engaging the plunger 21 at one end and an internal flange 26 of a top cap 27 of the annulus-mounting tube 17 at the other end so that the plunger 21 and plunger 24 will be normally urged downwards for the return stroke.

The top cap 27 has a maximum outside diameter equal to the diameter of the collar 18, the cap 27 and collar 18 forming clamping members for retention of the inflatable resilient annulus or packer 12. The outside diameter of the annulus 12 in its deflated condition is equal to the maximum outside diameter of the cap 27 and collar 18, this outside diameter being slightly smaller than the internal diameter of the bore casing into which the bore pump assembly is passed. The annulus 12 is formed of two cylindrical rubber sheaths vulcanized together at their ends only so that there is a space therebetween to constitute an inflation chamber 28, this chamber receiving gas (such as nitrogen gas) through a nozzle 29 extending through the top cap 27. The nozzle 29 may be copper tubing vulcanized into the annulus 12. To exhaust gas from the chamber 28 of the annulus 12, there is provided an exhaust pipe 30 passing from top to bottom of the annulus 12 to discharge therebeneath at the location indicated by the numeral 31. To improve the grip of the inflatable annulus 12 against the inner surface of the bore casing, the outer surface of the annulus 12 may be coated with abrasive grit as indicated at 32.

Above the pump barrel assembly 15 of the pumping mechanism 10, there is a cage assembly 33 accommodating the seal-actuating means 13 and the seal-release means 14, and this cage assembly 33 includes a webbed top plate 34 connected to the top cap 27 by four mounting arms 35, 36, 37 and 38. The plunger rod 24 extends upward through the top cap 27 and passes centrally through the cage assembly 33 and through a central bush of the top plate 34 to terminate above the top plate 34. The upper end of the plunger rod 24 is connected to a reciprocating member extending through the bore casing into a stand pipe and connected to means for reciprocating the pump. This member could be a composite pumprod of conventional form, but I prefer to use a steel cable 39, coated with plastic and connected by a swivel mounting 40 to the plunger rod 24. The cable 39 extends to the driving mechanism at the surface of the bore, namely a windmill or pump jack, the cable 39 being wound over a top sheave for hand winch removal. The use of this steel cable necessitates the said coil springs 25 about the plunger rod 24 to ensure that the pump plunger 21 will be returned towards the lower end of the pump housing 16 to complete the downstroke, any suitable type of springs 25 being employed for that purpose.

The various components constituting the seal-actuating means 13 and seal-release means 14 are within the cage assembly 33 and mounted principally on the mounting arms 35, 36, 37 and 38 as will be clear from FIGS. 3 and 9 in particular. Firstly, there is a valve galley 41 mounted between the arms 37 and 38 and having a tapped upper vertical bore 42 into which may be screwed the externally threaded lower end 43 of the gas container 44 shown in FIG. 10. When the container is screwed fully into the bore 42, a container valve (not shown) is opened by depression of a valve stem 45 so that the gas under pressure will escape to the passage 46 in the valve galley 41. This passage 46 leads to a filler valve chamber 47 of a filler valve assembly 48 which includes a sealably slidable filler valve member 49 of round cross-section. When the member 49 is in the in position of FIG. 6, it fits closely within an O-ring 50 and prevents flow of gas from the passage 46 to the chamber 47, the O-ring 50 being retained by a slotted cage-type sleeve 51 in the chamber and by a screw-type closure and guide plug 52. To prevent flow from the gas container 44 to the filler valve chamber 47, the filler valve member 49 must be held in against the action of the gas, and if the valve member 49 is released, the gas will pass to the valve chamber 47 and then through a tube 53 to a passage 54 connected to the nozzle 29 so that the annulus will be inflated. Other components of the sealactuating means 13 will be later described.

The valve galley 41 also contains an exhaust valve assembly 55 generally similar to the filler valve assembly 48. Gas under pressure in the annulus 12 will act through the passage 54 and the further passage 56 to urge the exhaust valve member 57 towards open position, this valve member being held in the in position of FIG. 6 except when the annulus 12 is to be deflated. The components of exhaust valve chamber 58, O-ring 59, cagelike sleeve '60 and closure and guide plug 61 are identical with those previously described. When the exhaust valve member 57 is released, it moves clear of the O-ring 59 to permit the annulus to communicate with the exhaust valve chamber 58 which connects with the elbow connector 62 for discharge through the exhaust pipe 30.

As shown in FIG. 3, the filler valve member 49 and exhaust valve member 57 are normally held in by separate retaining members 63 and 64 which are in the form of lever arms pivoted independently but about the same axis from the mounting arms 36. One end of each member engages the said valve members, while the other ends 65 and 66 extend to a trip assembly 67 mounted on the mounting arm 35, this assembly being shown in greater detail in FIGS. 7 and 8. It includes a pair of plates 68 through which trigger pins 69 and 70 are slidable but retained by end heads or flanges, their action being as later described.

For inflation of the annulus 12, there is provided a float member 71 of cylindrical form, closed at the top but open at the bottom, this being mounted on a vertical, slidabl guided mounting tube 72. The lower end of the tube 72 is slotted, and one end 73 of an actuating arm 74 is engaged in the slot. The other end of the actuating arm 74 is secured to a pivot bar 75 which is pivoted at 76 on the plate 68 of the trip assembly 67. When the float member 71 is initially down, the actuating arm 74 will also be held down and the pivot bar 75 will be substantially vertical so that its edge 77 may be set to engage under the head 78 of the trigger pin 69, the latter being urged towards and held against the end 65 of the retaining member 63. Thus, the filler valve member 49 will be held closed and no gas can pass to the annulus 12, this being the appropriate arrangement of the components while the bore pump assembly is being lowered to the operating location. However, when liquid level in the bore casing is reached, the float member 71 will rise to lift the actuating arm 74 which causes pivoting of the pivot bar 75, and thus the edge 77 of the latter will move clear of the head 78 of the trigger pin 69, allowing the latter to slide axially so that the retaining member 65 will pivot and free the filler valve member 49. Thus, the annulus 12 will be immediately inflated once the bore pump assembly reaches liquid in the bore casing.

For deflation of the annulus 12, the main component is a vertical release member in the form of a slidably guided rod 79 which has its upper end passing through the webbed top plate 34, there being two lifting mechanisms whereby the rod 79 may be raised to effect deflation of the annulus 12. Firstly, the release rod 79 passes through a hinged release block 80, one end of which is pivoted at 81 to the arm 35, while the other end is forked to fit close to and partly around the top end of the plunger rod 24. Prior to deflation, the release block 80 is in the position shown in FIG. 3, being in its down position, and a spring 82 encircles the release rod 79 between a collar 83 thereon and the top plate 34 so that the release rod 79 is also held down. In order that the release block 80 may be lifted to engage the collar 83 and lift the release rod 79, the plunger rod 24 has a release collar 84 at a position at which the collar 84 will not reach the release block 80 during normal operation of the pumping mechanism. However, if the operator raises the cable 39 to lift the plunger rod 24 in a withdrawal action, then the release collar 84 will engage the block 80 to pivot the latter upwards and lift the release rod 79 by its collar 83.

Additionally, the upper extremity 85 of the release rod 79 passes loosely through an aperture at one end of a release lever 86, said extremity 85 being threaded and having a nut 87 thereon. The release lever 86 is pivoted about a horizontal axis intermediate its length and has its free end 88 arranged so that when it is depressed, the release lever 86 will pivot to lift the release rod 79 by means of the nut 87, thus effecting deflation of the annulus 12. In the ordinary course of events, the annulus may be deflated simply by pulling up the plunger rod 24 by the cable 39, using the release collar 84 of the plunger rod to lift the release rod 79, but if the plunger rod should refuse to be lifted for any reason, then the operator can suspend a suitable tool, such as a metal sleeve, into the bore casing until it reaches and depresses the release lever 86 to lift the release rod 79.

The lower end 89 of the release rod 79 is disposed between the plates 68 of the trip assembly 67, and when the release rod 79 is down, it may engage behind a shoulder 90 on the trigger pin 70 so that the latter may be set to hold the end 66 of the retaining member 64 in an attitude to maintain the exhaust valve member 57 closed. If the release rod 79 is lifted, the trigger pin 70 will be free to slide axially as the retaining member 64 pivots under the action of the exhaust valve member 57 being forced open by the pressure of gas in the annulus. Thus, the annulus may be quickly and easily deflated at any time and under any conditions.

The operation of the bore pump assembly will be fully apparent from the drawings taken in conjunction with the foregoing description. It should however be mentioned that after the pump assembly has been fixed in position and the annulus 12 has been inflated, the plunger 21 will be raised somewhat so that at the bottom of its downstroke it will be quite clear of the suction valve 19. Many modifications of constructional detail and design may be made, and certain of these are shown in the modified bore pump assembly of FIGS. 11 to 13. With reference to FIG. 11, the coil spring 25a is of smaller diameter than the largest spring 25 of the first embodiment, and thus the exhaust pipe 30a may be within the annulus-mounting tube 17a instead of passing through the material of the annulus 12a. In FIG. 11, there is shown part of the bore casing 91 against which the annulus 12a is expanded, and in this instance, positive mounting of the bore pump assembly is assisted by the provision about the annulus 12 of a plurality of bore-casing-engagement members 92, each being of metal substantially rectangular with apertures into which the rubber of the annulus 12a is moulded. These members 92 are located adjacent the lower edge of the cap portion 27a and they are initially in the attitude shown in FIG. 12 which illustrates the annulus 12a prior to inflation thereof. When the annulus is inflated to engage the bore casing 91, each member 92 will lock in a wedging action between the portion 27a and the casing 91, as shown in FIG. 11, so that there will be no possibility of the bore pump assembly moving downwards.

It will be apparent that the type of construction as described will have many advantages over prior types of bore pumps, including the following: Firstly, a delivery pipe is not required as the existing bore casing becomes the delivery pipe, a financial saving being effected. Then again, corrosion of the casing is reduced since the casing carries the liquid at all times. Also, it will be found that there is an improved supply in low capacity bores owing to the vacuum effect below the pump hastening the flow of water through tight sands. The pump assembly will eliminate the hard work normally associated with surfacing and replacing orthodox pumps. There is no piping or pump rods to unscrew and haul to the surface.

As further advantages, the pump service time is vastly reduced; the power required to operate the pump is reduced (there being reduced fluid and rod friction); there is reduced load owing to the lighter weight of the steel cable; the usual multiplicity of joints is reduced, with greater strength and less weight; slap from the plunger is eliminated, with resultant increased life of buckets, pump barrel and plunger; no overhead structure is required for pulling the pump assembly from the bore; and finally, the pump assembly can be readily surfaced and transported for service at another bore if the bore is to be used only periodically.

What is claimed is:

1. A bore pump assembly adapted to be accommodated within a bore casing for pumping of liquid therefrom, said bore pump assembly including a pumping mechanism and a sealing mechanism, the latter having a sealing annulus, seal-actuating means and seal-release means; said sealing annulus being adapted to be disposed either in a first condition in which it is inoperative to permit insertion or withdrawal of the bore pump assembly or a second condition in which it engages and seals against the bore casing, the bore casing above the sealing annulus then constituting a delivery conduit for liquid pumped by said pumping mechanism from beneath and through said sealing annulus; said seal-actuating means being adapted to be triggered to actuate said sealing annulus from said first condition to said second condition, and said seal-release means including a release member adapted to be actuated selectively to return said sealing annulus from said second condition to said first condition, said sealing annulus being an inflatable resilient annulus adapted to be inflated by said seal-actuating means from said first condition to said second condition and to be deflated by said seal-release means from said second condition to said first condition, said seal-actuating means including a container for gas under pressure, filler valve means connecting said container to said inflatable sealing annulus, and a float member adapted to rise upon contact with liquid and to cause said filter valve means to be opened for inflation of said annulus. 2. A bore pump assembly according to claim 1, wherev in said filler valve means includes a fillervalve member said inflatable sealing annulus, said exhaust valve means being adapted to be opened by actuation of said release member for deflation of said annulus.

4. A bore pump assembly according to claim 3, wherein said exhaust valve means includes an exhaust valve member adapted to be moved to open position by pressure of gas in said annulus but initially held closed by a movable exhaust-valve-retaining member coacting with said release member, actuation of said release member causing said exhaust-valve-retaining member to free the exhaust valve member for the latter to open under the pressure of gas in said annulus.

5. A bore pump assembly according to claim 4, wherein said seal-actuating means and said seal-release means are mounted above said annulus, and said exhaust pipe leads from said exhaust valve means above said annulus to discharge at its lower end beneath said annulus.

6. A bore pump assembly according to claim 5, wherein said filler valve means and said exhaust valve means are incorporated in a single valve galley above said annulus.

7. A bore pump assembly according to claim 5, wherein said release member is a release rod extending upwardly in guided slidable manner and normally held in a down position by urging means, its lower end then acting to hold the exhaust-valve-retaining member in position to maintain the exhaust valve member closed, the upper end of the release rod having engagement means whereby the release rod may be engaged and moved slidably upwards against said urging means to move its lower end clear of said exhaust-valve-retaining member.

8. A bore pump assembly according to claim 7, where- I in said engagement means constitutes an uppermost part of the bore pump assembly and is adapted to be actuated by the insertion of a suspended hand tool into the bore casing above the bore pump assembly.

9. A bore pump assembly according to claim 8, wherein said release member is a release rod extending upwardly in guided slidable manner and normally held in a down position by urging means, its lower end then acting to hold the exhaust-valve-retaining member in position to maintain the exhaust valve member closed, the

;upper end of the release rod having engagement means whereby the release rod may be engaged and moved slidably upwards against said urging means to move its lower end clear of said exhaust-valve-retaining member, said pumping mechanism including a pump barrelassembly containing a movable plunger and a plunger rod whereby the plunger may be reciprocated vertically, said annulus being fitted closely around and secured to said pump barrel assembly, and said seal-actuating means and seal-release means being disposed above the pump barrel assembly and said annulus, said engagement means including a lifting mechanism associated with the upper part of the release rod, the plunger rod having a collar thereon adapted when the plunger rod is raised above its normal stroke to. engage and operate the lifting mechanism to move the release rod slidably upwards.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,133,462 10/1938 McManis l66120 2,370,832 3/1945 Baker 166'120 2,783,028 2/1957 Jamison 166-122 3,015,280 1/1'96'2 King 103 46 ROBERT M. WALKER, Primary Examiner I US. Cl. X.R. 166122 

